Spring arrives and the land smiles

Because of the night's ordeal, Qingyan was even more exhausted and ended up lying in bed until noon the next day.

Chu Shen was worried that something might have happened to the eldest princess, so he sent people to inquire about her condition starting at Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

"General Chu is afraid that if anything happens to me, he will be buried with me. Now he commands a border army and has a bright future. He shouldn't die for some ignorant princess." Qingyan took a sip of the soft and sticky red date porridge. Zhui'er's cooking was becoming more and more to her liking.

"Sicheng, go tell him that I'm not going to die. Tell him to put his mind at ease, focus on military affairs, and report back regularly."

"Yes." Si Cheng left the main tent.

"Zhui'er, where did these red dates come from?" In a military camp full of grown men, this food, which is entirely for women, is quite a rarity.

“Princess, I was just about to tell you this.” Zhui’er leaned closer mysteriously. “This morning I wanted to cook some porridge for you to replenish your blood, and General Chu happened to be in the kitchen. He even gave me a packet of the best red dates. Isn’t that strange?”

That's really strange.

Qingyan seemed to be deep in thought. This Chu Shen's overtures were somewhat obsequious, a stark contrast to his stubborn and defiant attitude the other day.

Chu Shen's impatience suggests that Lan Zhen's messenger from last night has left him somewhat flustered. However, the fact that Chu Shen wears his urgency on his sleeve makes him seem rather shallow, unlike the behavior of a general commanding a border army.

What on earth is he up to?

As Qingyan drank the soft and sticky red date porridge, her brows were furrowed tightly, making Zhuier think that her cooking skills had deteriorated and she had disappointed the princess.

"Princess, if you don't like it, I'll make something else," Zhui'er said cautiously, pointing to the red date porridge.

Qingyan looked at the porridge in the bowl and a thought struck her: "Zhui'er, I want to eat white fungus and lotus seed soup."

“Silver, white fungus, lotus seed soup?” Zhui’er stammered. “Princess, this, this is a military camp.”

"If you're missing any materials, just tell General Chu, and he'll definitely find them for you." Qingyan raised an eyebrow and waved for Zhuier to hurry up.

Zhui'er left the main tent with a bitter face.

"Sicheng." Qingyan called him in as soon as Zhuier left.

Si Cheng lifted the curtain and entered the tent, standing in front of Qing Yan without bowing.

Qingyan didn't seem to care much, as if the two had reached a tacit understanding.

"I'll have Zhui'er make white fungus and lotus seed soup. If she's short of ingredients, she'll ask General Chu. Sicheng, go and find out where Chu Shen got these ingredients from," Qingyan instructed.

"Yes." Si Cheng didn't say much, accepted the order and left the main tent.

The red dates seemed to have been prepared in advance. I wonder if the white fungus and lotus seeds were also readily available? Thinking of this, Qingyan couldn't help but smile gently.

Just as Qingyan predicted, Chu Shen went to great lengths to provide whatever the Princess needed, giving her whatever she asked for immediately.

"Princess." When Zhuier brought the white fungus and lotus seed soup into the tent, Qingyan did not show the slightest surprise.

"Hmm, your skills have improved." Qingyan took a sip, stirred the white fungus and lotus seeds in the bowl with a spoon, her eyes slightly narrowed, her expression shifting.

“Princess, you would never guess.” Receiving praise, Zhui’er naturally became noisy, “I just went to the kitchen and made a request, and in less than a quarter of an hour, General Chu’s personal guards brought all the ingredients. Not only that, General Chu also sent over some royal swallows.”

"Oh?" Qingyan was slightly surprised and raised her head to signal Zhuier to continue.

"I checked the quality of the royal swallow's nest. Although it's not as good as what the princess usually uses, it's still top-grade. I'll go and make it for you later." Zhui'er was heartbroken about the princess's injury, so she naturally wanted to do everything she could to help.

"Alright, since we have enough ingredients, Zhui'er, pick a few of my favorite light dishes and make them. What's missing..."

Before Qingyan could finish speaking, Zhuier interrupted her:

"If you need anything, just ask General Chu. General Chu is all-powerful and can provide whatever you need."

"Go ahead," Qingyan said with a smile.

As soon as Zhui'er left the tent, Sicheng hurried in.

"What did you find out?" Qingyan's expression immediately turned serious.

Si Cheng didn't waste any words or formalities, and said directly: "Since the day the princess entered the camp, General Chu has instructed his deputy Xu Zhao to purchase various supplies for the princess. Xu Zhao seems to be in charge of this matter, and even the military affairs under his command have been temporarily transferred to another deputy protector Lu Yan. The military affairs under Xu Zhao's jurisdiction previously included the deployment of defenses along the official road closest to the gold mine."

Upon hearing this, Qingyan's expression suddenly froze.

The gold mine was only recently discovered, and at such a crucial moment, the commander of the defense of the official road was changed at the last minute. Moreover, Chu Shen used such a clumsy excuse to replace Xu Zhao. It would be hard to believe that Chu Shen was not involved in this shady dealing.

"Sicheng, go and investigate Xu Zhao and Lu Yan."

"Yes."

Not long after Si Cheng left his tent, Chu Shen brought the old military doctor to pay his respects in front of Qing Yan's tent.

Qingyan thought about it and agreed.

Because of Qingyan's identity, the old military doctor was extremely cautious when taking her pulse, fearing that he might make the slightest mistake.

"How is it?" Qingyan asked casually, feeling that the old doctor was being overly cautious.

"This..." The old military doctor hesitated, then looked up at Chu Shen for help.

"Just speak frankly." Qingyan knew her own body best and thought the old military doctor was probably making a fuss over nothing.

The old military doctor swallowed hard and answered cautiously, "The assassin's blade was coated with a corrosive poison. Although the princess is not in mortal danger, she will need to recuperate for several days, and even if the wound heals, it will likely leave a scar."

No wonder there was still blood seeping out when I changed the dressing these past few days. Qingyan had thought it was because of the hot summer weather that the wound was not healing well, but now it seems to be caused by putrefaction.

"I understand, you can go now." Qingyan waved her hand, her voice flat and devoid of emotion.

The old military doctor felt like he had been granted a pardon and, at Chu Shen's signal, withdrew from the main tent.

Qingyan didn't seem to care much about the scars. Although this era placed great importance on a woman's appearance, it seemed that appearance was not a consideration for Qingyan's status.

“Princess, there is a Valley of Immortal Healers in Yushan. I can send someone to seek medicine there.” Chu Shen saw that Qingyan was no longer speaking, and guessed that the old military doctor’s words had broken the young girl’s heart.

Asking for medicine?

Upon hearing this, Qingyan smiled inwardly. She realized that she had given Chu Shen another excuse to make Xu Zhao do odd jobs. Well, that was fine too. The more he did, the more mistakes he would make, and Chu Shen would eventually reveal his weakness.

Qingyan feigned great joy: "Then I'll have to trouble General Chu."

Chu Shen received the order and hurried off.

Thanks to the old military doctor's care, Qingyan's wounds have healed a lot. However, she still winces in pain when she moves her body.

Qingyan tentatively used her hands to support her body, trying to get out of bed and move around, but the pain from her wound still made her legs weak.

"Princess." Zhui'er was carrying a delicious meal into the tent when she saw Qingyan getting out of bed on her own. She quickly put down the tray and helped Qingyan up.

Because of her many concerns about Chu Shen, Qingyan did not allow anyone else to serve her closely except for Zhui'er and Sicheng. As a result, Zhui'er was busy taking care of Qingyan these past few days while she was injured, and her face became thinner from exhaustion.

"It's alright." Qingyan patted Zhuier's hand.

Zhui'er helped Qingyan sit up straight and quickly said, "I'll go and fetch the old army doctor."

"No need, the old military doctor just checked my pulse and said I'll be fully recovered by tomorrow," Qingyan said with a smile, stopping her.

"Princess is playing tricks on me again. How can such a deep wound heal so easily?" Zhui'er pouted, full of indignation. "It's all that Prince Zhao's fault. He caused trouble himself and dragged my princess into it. If General Ning finds out, he'll skin him alive."

As Zhui'er spoke, she brought the meal to Qingyan. Qingyan had no appetite these past few days due to her injury, but the delicious and colorful dishes today made her mouth water.

While they were eating, Sicheng requested an audience outside the tent.

You said to put down your tableware, and I agreed.

After entering the tent, Si Cheng did not observe many formalities and immediately reported the findings of his investigation: "Princess, one of Xu Zhao's personal guards had been in frequent contact with Qise a few days ago."

"What?!" Qingyan was shocked. Xu Zhao had actually colluded with Lan Jing to kill her!

"Has the matter been clarified?"

"I have confirmed it repeatedly."

Where is Lu Yan?

"No abnormalities were found."

Qingyan fell silent, her expression gradually becoming serious.

The deputy general of the border general colluded with the Southern Xia to murder the crown prince, which is a serious crime of treason. When Chu Shen transferred Xu Zhao away from his important position, did he know his intentions or did it unintentionally?

If it is the former, then Chu Shen's failure to detain Xu Zhao and expose his crimes suggests either that he intends to collude with him or that he is playing the long game.

If it is the latter, then Chu Shen will be held responsible for the oversight.

"Sicheng, have Siyou and Siwu keep a close watch on Xu Zhao and Chu Shen. Report back immediately if there are any unusual movements," Qingyan instructed.

Si Cheng accepted the order and left, heading straight for the Lingfengge Yushan branch.

Since Si Cheng recalled Si You and Si Wu from Princess Ying Hua, Qing Yan did not assign them the role of secret guards. Instead, she had them rebuild the destroyed Lingfeng Pavilion Yushan branch.

Although these two sisters were bodyguards, they were lively and unusually alert. Qingyan naturally wanted to make the best use of them. At this moment, figuring out Chu Shen's thoughts was more important than rebuilding the Yushan branch.

"Princess, please eat some more." Zhui'er saw that Qingyan had finished instructing Sicheng, but still looked worried and hadn't touched her chopsticks, so she couldn't help but worry about her health.

Qingyan snapped out of her daze and looked at the exquisite meal. Suddenly, she lost her appetite, but thinking of her still-healing injury, she picked up her chopsticks anyway.

Meanwhile, Chu Shen immediately instructed Xu Zhao to go to the Immortal Doctor Valley to seek medicine, which was much more difficult than finding various ingredients and supplies.

"General, this... the Princess is making things difficult for us!" Xu Zhao hesitated, perhaps afraid that his intention to keep her here would be too obvious, and dared not disobey her order directly.

"Her Highness the Princess was assassinated in my camp. If this is investigated, neither of us will be able to save our lives. It is already very rare that the Princess has not made any move yet. If you don't go, do you expect me to go?" Chu Shen slammed his hand on the table next to him, and the paperweight on the table almost jumped up.

Seeing that Chu Shen was furious, Xu Zhao dared not say anything more and had no choice but to accept the order and leave.

Back in his tent, Xu Zhao took off his military cloak and threw it violently to the ground, whereupon his personal guards quickly picked it up.

Even though he was a million times unwilling, he had no choice but to do these meaningless chores as Chu Shen had instructed. Xu Zhao suppressed his anger and ordered his personal guards to set off for Immortal Medicine Valley the next day to seek medicine.